Hurricane in Heels -- a Column by Kellie McRae

It seems that people like to lay blame when they don’t have a full understanding of something. They tend to seek an explanation and when they can’t, then decide it must be someone’s fault. I have a feeling that those who deem themselves healthy think they mean well…

People tend to think of their animals as part of their family. They provide unconditional love and are there by your side through the good and the bad. That’s just the everyday value that a family pet provides. For those battling lupus, depression can be overwhelming, a feeling…

When people think of massage they often think of luxury — something to reward or pamper yourself with. Some may use it to alleviate stress, or perhaps a pulled muscle from a workout at the gym. Massage is not something many recognize as medicinal in nature, nor do they…

We love food. We salivate over it as we watch television commercials, spend hours enjoying it as we dine out with friends and family. And, if we fancy ourselves chefs, we spend time pouring over new recipes and finding new flavors. Still, we don’t always take into…

It’s interesting how most of the world can just plan a trip and go. When you are battling lupus, planning a trip takes a few extra measures. There needs to be plenty of thought, even for a short trip, when you are dealing with unpredictable symptoms. The…

Lupus primarily targets women, as does the media. We are often inundated with photographs of young, thin, flawlessly airbrushed women who are the picture of what perfection is supposed to be. It’s the stuff that dreams are made of — and enough to give us low self-esteem. Many of us…

Lupus is a pretty devastating disease, and those who do not have to deal with it firsthand, day after day, don’t really get to see that. Often, those who know someone battling it tell me about how that person is living a normal life, or how they have…

  It is no secret that food is one our most basic needs. It provides the building blocks for strong and healthy bodies. People with lupus have the same requirements as everyone else, except we are a little more sensitive to the effects of food. Food for a…

Daily, we are bombarded with weight loss ads promoting the latest powder, pill, or apparatus that help us achieve that thin look we seem to think is better than the way we look now. I’ve always found many of the methods being advertised interesting; they rarely offer any real health…

When people hear about a lupus diagnosis, they don’t often think about what it really costs to have the disease. In fact, many who don’t know much about it think it can be “managed” and don’t really take it very seriously. Those of us who battle it daily know that lupus…